TOUGH TALK IN LONDON – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:  British Prime Minister David Cameron recently said that multiculturalism had failed, a remark that shocked the prissies in Europe and in British universities, but of course he was right. 

Now Cameron is talking tough again, and properly so, saying things that have needed to be said in a nation that is really two nations – the Britain of Churchill and the Britain of the chic left.  Britain has been stunned by three nights of rioting that began in London and spread to other cities.  From The Telegraph:

David Cameron has given the green light for water cannon to be used on the British mainland for the first time and condemned pockets of society as “sick.”

The Prime Minister said water cannon – until now only ever seen in the UK in Ulster - will be available at 24 hours notice to deal with the “despicable violence” being carried out in cities across the country.

And in a sign that other more draconian crowd control measures will now be at the disposal of the police he said: “We will do whatever is necessary. Nothing is off the table.”

In his strongest comments yet on the perpetrators of the violence, Mr Cameron said: “There are pockets of our society that are not only broken, but frankly sick...It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society, people allowed to feel that the world owes them something.”

Water cannon have been used this summer by police in Ulster and have been a regular sight at disturbances in the province. But despite calls for it to be used on the mainland – including after last year’s student riots in London – ministers have always ruled it out.

COMMENT:  Cameron still has a tough job ahead in countering the cultural forces on the left.  The BBC reverted to leftist form during the riots by referring to people who were beating other people as "protesters."  Some British fringe leftists have openly praised the rioting.  We have a similar political element here, of course. 

We hope these horrible riots, during which whole sections have been set on fire, will jolt the British people into a realistic view of what is happening in their society, despite the efforts of the BBC and other outlets to present their own "narrative." 

A suggestion floating around is for Bill Bratton, who revolutionized policing in New York under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to to become the next head of Scotland Yard.  It's a great idea that could modernize policing in Britain, but apparently it won't happen.  Too much political opposition.

After all, why get the best when another bureaucrat can be brought in?

August 10, 2011